Liz Allen: Teen artists express themselves

One reason why Yassar Alfatlawi, 17, sunk her teeth into art is because her dad sketched pictures of horses for her when she was little.

Julie Rapela, 18, added art to her high school studies, in part, because her mom used to draw bunnies on the love notes she tucked into Julie's school lunches.

Yassar recently won first place and Julie won second place in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. "Day of Expression" poster contest sponsored by the Youth Leadership Institute of Erie.

I couldn't resist puns about these delightful Collegiate Academy seniors. Although they are passionate about art, they've chosen careers in widely different fields.

Yassar will major in biology at Gannon University and wants to be an orthodontist. She sees art in dentistry because "it enhances how people look."

Julie will major in accounting at Gannon because "I like to solve the problem," she says.

Yassar's dad, Jabbar, now owns a store, and her mother, Hanan, is a nurse. But when Yassar was little, her father worked long shifts at a Girard plastics company.

"My dad used to draw me horses before he went to work," she says. The drawings kept the two connected when they didn't see each other because of her father's work schedule.

The fourth of Jeffrey and Regina Rapela's six children, Julie was inspired to draw by her mom's interest in art.

Advanced Placement studio art teacher James Rinderle encouraged the two students to enter the MLK contest. "They have taken some very difficult challenges in both subject matter and medium over their high school years but always seem to be able to produce amazing works of art," he says.

Both used prisma pencils for their winning posters.

Julie's is a striking image of Abraham Lincoln, focused on his eyes and his lined forehead. "He just showed so much pain and strength," she says. The poster quotes from the Gettysburg Address: "And dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."

Yassar studied various photos of King before drawing him with folded hands. "In the picture, he looked almost as if he was praying, which was perfect, since he prayed for equality," she says. Her two brothers helped pick the King quote she used: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

Whether fixing teeth or analyzing spreadsheets, both young women say they'll continue to create art. "It's a calming thing," Julie says. "I want my kids to be growing up and doing the same thing," Yassar says.

Their art will leave a lasting impression in Erie, too. Julie's poster will hang at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Yassar's will hang in the PNC Bank Community Room.